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Belleville's Topaz Thai Restaurant offers a traditional menu of Thai dishes in a relaxed setting.
Topaz Thai Restaurant offers vegan and health options, both of which are rich in flavor.
Don't leave the kids at home — youngsters will love the family-friendly cuisine at Topaz Thai Restaurant just as much as mom and dad.
Topaz Thai Restaurant is a good restaurant to dine with a small or large group.
Call ahead for reservations to ensure your table is waiting for you when you arrive.
No need to be formal, business casual will pass.
Topaz Thai Restaurant will even bring the amazing food from their kitchen to yours.
Dining out isn't your only option here — pickup is available, too.
Topaz Thai Restaurant is surrounded by multiple parking options, including street, valet and lot.
Store your bike at a nearby rack and enjoy a bite to eat at Topaz Thai Restaurant.
Meals at Topaz Thai Restaurant are incredibly tasty and reasonably priced around $30.

For a tasty mix of Asian flavors and a laid-back vibe, Bloomfield's Pandan Asian Cuisine is the place to go.
It serves everything including gluten-free and low-fat options.
Bring the whole clan to Pandan Asian Cuisine — kids and parents will love the menu and ambience here.
Book a room at Pandan Asian Cuisine so the only you have to worry about is what great dish you're going to order.
Reserve a table ahead of time and avoid the lines.
Relaxed attire is perfectly fine at Pandan Asian Cuisine, known for its laid-back ambience.
Carry-out is also available for those who prefer to enjoy Pandan Asian Cuisine's cooking from the comfort of their own home.
Catering makes it easier to organize any event, and Pandan Asian Cuisine will ensure that it is delicious.
Drive to lunch or dinner at Pandan Asian Cuisine and find easy parking in a lot close by or on the street.
Dining at Pandan Asian Cuisine will set you back about $30 per person on average.
Paying with your major credit card is one payment option at Pandan Asian Cuisine.
Pandan Asian Cuisine has three square meals a day on the menu, so swing by for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

A culinary gem, Spice Thai Cuisine in Bloomfield is a hugely-popular spot for a delightful menu. The flavorful dishes will have you coming back for more.
Most people will agree that it's noted for its super friendly service. There's no specific recommended attire, so feel free to dress casually and comfortably.
It's recommended that you should try the tom yum, as it's frequently raved about. For those who are interested, the menu does feature vegan items. In addition to its convenient take-out offerings, the restaurant even provides catering for events around town.
Specializing in both lunch and dinner, Spice Thai Cuisine is a terrific choice when you're in the mood for Asian cuisine and want to expand your horizons beyond the regular ol' Chinese or Japanese fare. The restaurant is easily reachable by public transit, and visitors who drive have access to a private lot nearby (or can park on the street). Prefer to pedal there? Bicycle parking is also provided.

Bloomfield's Brookside Thai Restaurant offers a traditional menu of Thai dishes in a relaxed setting.
Don't expect to find any low-fat fare on Brookside Thai Restaurant's menu — you'll need to be prepared to indulge a bit.
Load up the mini-van and bring the kids to Brookside Thai Restaurant — they'll love the menu and scene here as much as mom and dad.
Don't get stuck waiting for a table — the restaurant accepts reservations.
Always five minutes behind schedule? Pick up your food to go instead.
Brookside Thai Restaurant patrons can pull into a space on the street when searching for parking at the Broad St location.
Make use of the luxurious bike racks at Brookside Thai Restaurant.
A dinner that is yummy and affordable is the standard at Brookside Thai Restaurant.

For a quick curry, Bloomfield's Boonsong Thai Cuisine is a great lunch or dinner spot.
The menu at Boonsong Thai Cuisine is loaded with gluten-free and low-fat options.
Boonsong Thai Cuisine is a terrific spot for families to gather with its kid-friendly ambience and menu.
Get dressy for a fancy meal out on the town.
With delivery and take-out options, you can enjoy Boonsong Thai Cuisine's cooking from the comfort of your own living room.
The restaurant also offers catering if you want to bring the flavors of Boonsong Thai Cuisine to your next party or event.
Complimentary parking is provided in the lot next to Boonsong Thai Cuisine.
A mid-priced establishment, Boonsong Thai Cuisine offers meals that typically cost about $30 or less.

facet: Main
type: Traditional
locale: en_US
title: Green Basil
facet_type_id: 7790af20-5f3c-1032-aec7-d4f03e6910d5
html_text: Green Basil's head chef fills the kitchen with recipes passed down from her Thai mother and grandmother, as well as familiar spices and sauces from her childhood in Thailand. Housemade peanut sauce complements chicken satay and chicken rama, and tamarind sauce envelops roasted duck and pineapple chicken. Green Basil also serves classic Thai dishes such as panang curry and pad thai in its dining room, which seats up to 30 guests or 30,000 miniature people piloting a human suit.

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The human palate varies widely from person to person, so determining how spicy something is by taste alone can be tricky. It’s the hypothetical equivalent of trying to measure air temperature based on how much someone is sweating. Fortunately, spiciness has its own kind of thermometer: the Scoville scale. It cuts through this sensory subjectivity by measuring the prevalence of capsaicin—the chemical compound responsible for delivering the spicy flavor—in chili peppers or foods that use them for pungent effect.Taste TestingNamed after its inventor, pharmacist Wilbur Scoville, the Scoville scale dates back to 1912. While attempting to find a suitable pepper to use in a heat-producing ointment, he developed a process called the Scoville organoleptic test, which relied on human taste-testers to judge the piquancy of different chili-pepper extracts. Subjects would taste the extract in its pure form then continue to sample it as Scoville diluted it with water. The degree to which the extract had to be diluted before subjects could no longer feel the heat determined the pepper’s placement on the scale. The resulting numbers are expressed in SHU (Scoville Heat Units).How Hot Is Hot?For comparison, here are a few touchpoints along the Scoville scale:0 SHU: bell pepper 100–8,000 SHU: most major-brand hot sauces 2,500–5,000 SHU: jalapeño pepper 5,000–10,000 SHU: chipotle pepper6,000–23,000 SHU: serrano pepper 100,000–350,000 SHU: habanero pepper; scotch bonnet pepper 500,000 SHU: red savina pepper 1 million SHU: ghost pepper 1.3 million SHU: naga viper pepper 2.2 million SHU: Carolina Reaper pepper, the current hottest in the world 5.3 million SHU: police-grade pepper spray (banned from most chili cookoffs) 16 million SHU: pure capsaicinThe Chemistry of CalienteSince sensitivity to heat can vary widely from person to person, the Scoville scale is primarily useful because it allows for easy comparison: tell someone that a ghost pepper registers one million SHUs, and they likely won’t know what that means. But telling them that a ghost pepper is roughly 200 times hotter than a jalapeño will give them a clearer idea of how much heat to expect. The question of whether that registers as tongue-scorching or just mildly unpleasant is completely dependant upon how sensitive they are to the jalapeño.Today, a process called high-performance liquid chromatography can determine the exact concentration of capsaicin, eliminating the need for human taste testers. That’s probably for the best, since it might be dangerous to test the limitations of the human tongue; in 2013, the Daily Mail reported a story of a British doctor who broke into tears and hallucinations after (voluntarily) consuming a curry that measured 6 million SHU. Sink Your Teeth Into These Other Spicy Reads:The Restaurants Serving the Hottest Peppers in the World, and the Customers Crazy Enough to Eat ThemSweating, Crying, and Smiling: The World’s Hottest Hot Sauce at The Pepper Palace

In November of 2013, the Carolina Reaper pepper was declared the “World’s Hottest Chili” by the Guinness Book of World Records. Nearly two years later, it continues to hold the title—an admirable feat in an industry filled with record chasers in constant competition to breed hotter and hotter chilies. None have managed to captivate the world quite like the Reaper, however, which has inspired countless videos of weepy-eyed men, women, and children brave (or boneheaded?) enough to try and eat one. One Bon Appétit writer went so far as to consume three whole peppers in just under 22 seconds, then documented the 14 hours of misery that ensued.
At more than 1.5 million Scoville heat units (the official measurement used to judge a chili pepper’s spiciness), the Carolina Reaper is roughly 300 times hotter than the average jalapeño. With such intense heat, it hasn’t exactly been popping up on menus across the globe—but some of its (only slightly) less spicy brethren have been torturing tongues for years.
Below, we highlighted some of the spiciest chilis available for consumption, in case you want to gradually build your tolerance to Reaper-ready levels.Trinidad Scorpion ‘Butch T’ Heat Level: 1.4 million Scoville heat units (280 times hotter than a jalapeño)Country of Origin: Trinidad and TobagoFast Fact: Gets its name from its pointed tip, which is said to resemble a scorpion stinger.Where to try it: Jake Melnick’s Corner Tap in Chicago, ILJake Melnick’s XXX wings are ignited with a hot sauce made from Trinidad scorpion peppers, ghost peppers, and habaneros. Guests tempted to try them must sign a waiver, and anyone who’s able to finish an order gets their photo on Jake’s Wall of Flame.
Naga ViperHeat Level: 1.3 million SHU (260 times hotter than a jalapeño)Country of Origin: Great BritainFast Fact: A cross between a Naga Morich, Bhut Jolokia, and Trinidad scorpion, the Naga Viper is considered an “unstable three-way hybrid,” meaning the peppers cannot produce offspring that are exactly like it.Where to Try It: Red Dog Saloon in LondonRed Dog’s hot-wing challenge presents chicken doused with fresh Naga chili sauce. Like the XXX wings at Jake’s, the Naga wings require diners to sign a liability waiver (the last line of which reads, “I am a damned fool”) before digging in. Challengers must consume 6 of the wings in 10 minutes and resist eating or drinking anything for at least 5 minutes afterward in order to get their picture on the saloon wall—a feat that has a mere 5% success rate.Ghost Pepper (aka Bhut Jolokia)Heat Level: 1 million SHU (200 times hotter than a jalapeño)Country of Origin: BangladeshFast Fact: In some parts of India, ghost peppers (which can be many different colors, including red, chocolate brown, purple, and yes, white) are reportedly used in smoke bombs designed to keep wild elephants at bay.Where to Try It: Brick Lane Curry House in New York, NYOften referred to as the “hottest curry in the world,” BLCH’s phaal curry features ghost peppers along with nine (!) other types of chilies. The fumes produced by the cooking process are so incendiary, the chef has to wear a gas mask—a process documented on Man v. Food, when host Adam Richman compared the smell’s effect to “swallowing a porcupine.”Red SavinaHeat Level: 500,000 SHU (100 times hotter than a jalapeño)Country of Origin: USAFast Fact: Held the world record for the hottest chilli for 12 years (1994–2006).Where to Try It: Lafayette Brewing Company in Lafayette, INLafayette Brewing’s hickory-smoked wings come with four dipping sauces, one of which is a barbecue sauce made with Red Savinas. These don’t come with a waiver, just a warning and an excuse to drink a lot of Lafayette’s award-winning oatmeal stout.
Scotch BonnetHeat Level: 100,000 SHU (20 times hotter than a jalapeño)Country of Origin: Not Scotland, actually. The Scotch Bonnet is found in many Caribbean Islands, as well as in Guyana, the Maldives, and West Africa.Fast Fact: The pepper’s name comes from its resemblance to a traditional tam o’ shanter hat.Where to Try It: The Rookery in Brooklyn, NYThe Rookery’s Yellow Bonnet bloody mary is unusually spicy—it gets its kick from a healthy dose of Scotch Bonnet peppers. It also has an unusual golden hue, thanks to an infusion of yellow tomatoes.Scotch Bonnet photo: Back yard plants by Jeff Vier under CC by 2.0Check out our guides to other food categories:Nine African Dishes Not to Miss
You’ve probably had injera, but what about n’dolé, bobotie, or fufu?A Guide to Ordering the Perfect Fish
Don’t know the difference between snapper and cod? Allow a fishmonger to explain.

It can be tricky to find authentic Thai food in the US. How can you tell if your favorite local Thai restaurant is serving food you might find in Bangkok? We asked food writer Leela Punyaratabandhu—the brains behind the Thai cooking blog SheSimmers and author of the cookbook Simple Thai Food—for some direction. But don’t despair if your favorite local spot deviates from these tips. There's definitely more than one way to enjoy your meal.“People should not be told how to enjoy their food,” she said. “But if you want to make the most out of your Thai meal, then eat like the Thai.”
Below, she offers up six ways to spot authentic Thai food.
1. A Menu of Thai Food and Thai Food OnlyA Thai restaurant that boasts Thai and another distinct cuisine might not be putting its best efforts into either one.“If they happen to have really good, authentic Thai food—which is not impossible, but it’s very unlikely—it makes me question why they can’t just pick one [cuisine],” Leela said. “You wouldn’t want to walk into a sushi restaurant that serves Thai food, so why would want a Thai restaurant that serves sushi?”2. The Smaller the Menu, the Better Look for a restaurant with smaller menu or one that sticks to a single region in Thailand. For an example, consider Nong’s Khao Man Gai in Portland, Oregon. The hugely popular food cart only serves a single dish: its namesake khao man gai chicken and rice. That’s a far cry from menus that list dishes from all over Thailand.“If you see green curry and red curry and pad thai and a lot of other things that don’t normally coexist, that’s rare,” Leela said. “It happens in restaurants that cater to tourists.”3. Nix the Chopsticks
“[If] you go to a Thai restaurant and they preemptively bring out a pair of chopsticks, that’s not a good sign,” Leela said. “It means they’re used to catering to people who don’t demand authenticity.” In Thailand, rice isn’t eaten with chopsticks; diners use forks and spoons. “The fork pushes the food into the spoon, transporting both the sauce and the rice. But if you transport that same bite with a fork, all the liquid falls through,” she said. “It’s even worse when you use chopsticks.”
4. Ask to See the Secret MenuWhat are the restaurant’s staff members eating? Secret-menu items.
“The real secret menu, you’re not even supposed to know about it,” Leela said. “These are the things that [staff members] know no one else but Thai regulars would order—the things they would make for themselves.” But the good stuff isn’t always hidden away. The newer generations of Thai chefs, such as Kris Yenbamroong of Los Angeles’s Night + Market, are bolder than those of the past. “They know that we have reached a point where Americans are ready for authentic Thai, and they don’t hold back anymore,” Leela said. “We have now entered the era where the things they would make in the back of the kitchen are now on the regular menu.”5. No Crab RangoonLeela hadn’t heard of crab rangoon until she came to the United States: “I have never seen crab rangoon in Thailand. Ever.” The same goes for Vietnamese-style rice-paper spring rolls, which are the US standard. “Back in Thailand, it’s a whole different thing,” she said. Authentic Thai spring rolls are made with thin, wheat-based wrappers. So if the Thai restaurant you’re at opts for these wrappers, it’s the real deal.6. Pass the Nam Pla PrikAlthough not all authentic Thai restaurants serve nam pla prik—a condiment of fish sauce and chilies—its availability is always a good thing, Leela said. “That’s a sign they they care for you in the way they cook and do hospitality.” As Leela mentioned on her blog, asking for nam pla prik is a quick way to endear yourself to the restaurant staff.Photo illustration by Mark Mills, GrouponDiscover more secrets behind quality cuisine:Leela Details the Five Soy Sauces of Thai FoodLearn about these essential, ubiquitous, and complex condiments with the help of the SheSimmers blogger and cookbook author.Four Rules to Help You Find a Great American SteakhouseHow do you tell whether steak restaurants are good or great? Look for a scrumptious baked potato and ignore the shrimp.